Small town Nevada judge resigns after ethics suspension

Updated 11:57 am, Thursday, October 12, 2017

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A small-town Nevada judge accused of ethical lapses and abuse of power after 17 years on the bench has resigned.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported (http://bit.ly/2kLX3aa ) Wednesday that Goodsprings Township Justice of the Peace Dawn Haviland resigned Sept. 18, less than a month after she was suspended without pay for a year.

Haviland was accused of sealing the criminal records of her daughter's then-husband and ordering court staff to conduct illegal criminal records searches.

Haviland's attorney Albert Marquis says the judge was disheartened by investigation and suspension and could not afford the thousands of dollars it would cost her to attend judicial education classes as part of her punishment.

Her six-year term would have expired in 2018.

Goodsprings is a former mining town of about 200 residents about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Las Vegas.